Bugs
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Christmas decorationsI've got a new book  . It's the Wimmin's Insitute Complete Christmas or some such and has craft things in as well as recipes.
Anyway one decoration I came across looks dead easy yet pretty and surprisingly classy (what do I know of that?), and I thought it might be of interest to people here, you could get not-too-little children doing it too (it involves metal wire so not one for tinies).
All you do is take very small beads or bugle beads. Take as sturdy a wire as you can manage to fit through the beads. You then bend the wire and add a few beads,bend again and you have the first point of a star, and keep threading and bending until you have enough points to your star and a bit of wire left over which you twist in to a loop to thread with string for hanging. It looks really quite good in the picture and very simple, especially I think if you had several, and if you've got any talent (I understand this is a thing people have although I have never developed it) you could adapt it to other shapes.
Of course I dare say this is old hat to most people but I thought it looked fun 
Have we already done making Christmas decorations?
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nora
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I like that idea. I'll try it today as i've got some beads that have just been collecting dust for years.
Thanks Bugs 
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Lozzie
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That is a great idea! Thank you Bugs. I have some beads from old necklaces that require using ... sometimes you just need a little prd in the right direction. This could be a good decoration for any time of the year, really!
Another Christmas dec. I like doing is slicing oranges or lemons, peel still on, and drying the slices on a radiator. Then a loop of thread and they are ready to decorate a tree. Also little bundles of cinnamon sticks (bought from a craft shop is much much cheaper than the edible version). Also, scraps of old wrapping paper and ribbon around empty matchboxes make lovely tree decorations (you can always put a wee little something in there for curious fingers to find).
Or you can adapt old wooden curtain rings with a tiny sprig of something or other and a twist of ribbon to make tree decorations.
Christmas posies, or just simple bunches of herbs, dried flowers and evergreens, look really nice hung in the corner of door frames.
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mochyn
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When I can find it, I'll post a pic of the wire angel I made for a show last year. Very narrow wire with a few sparkly beads on the wings: really easy and very cheap.
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gil
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Perhaps not for those with dogs or small children, but ivy is underrated as a decoration, and plentiful. Looks good draped along picture rails, mantelpieces, lamps, etc. Makes a good basis for door wreaths too, as it bends easily. Smells a bit odd, though.
At this time of the year, there are often Xmas decorations to be found in charity shops, as folk throw out their old stuff prior to buying new. The other thing to try is getting shops to give you their stuff when they take the decorations down.
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nora
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Well i've had a go at the bead decorations idea Bugs - heres what I made. I liked doing the curly one best.
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Lozzie
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Those are cracking. I too like the spiral one. You could have a pair and use them as Pat Butcher ear-rings!
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ele
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| Lozzie wrote: | | Those are cracking. I too like the spiral one. You could have a pair and use them as Pat Butcher ear-rings! |
I agree they're really gorgeous
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mrsnesbitt
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Would make fantastic earrings! Great stuff!!!
Dxx
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Azura Skye
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I agree gil, ivy is brilliant We put it everywhere too - really pretty.
And those bead decorations are really pretty. I made some badges last month using this technique. I made a ladybug and a wasp, and will made some more brooches for christmas pressies maybe
Last year I made some decorations but got lazy and didnt finish! You;ve inspired me to start with them again this year. I had some pieces of felt material and I just made some into circles and star shapes and sewed two pieces together with thick thread and stuffed them with toy stuffing, then sewed some of those beads on them to make a pattern. Quite pretty really, if they didnt have stuffing falling out of them because of my not getting off my arse attidude, doh!
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trigfa
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Excellent.
You know if it wasn't for the fact that I'm male, I'd like to join the Womens Institute
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jamsam
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| gil wrote: |
At this time of the year, there are often Xmas decorations to be found in charity shops, as folk throw out their old stuff prior to buying new. The other thing to try is getting shops to give you their stuff when they take the decorations down. |
i did just that one year, when i was working at the main branch of next in milton keynes, i had all the long strings of tinsel and some huge baubels on ribbons. we still use them now and as we live in a big geogian house they lok great, but the same every year!
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gil
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| jamsam wrote: | | they lok great, but the same every year! |
nowt wrong with that ! call it starting a tradition, if you like !
BTW, ivy photocopies well (as do other flattish plants; not tried holly leaves yet) - just sellotape it in places to the pattern you want - and the results can be used to make cards.
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